Robert Louis-Dreyfus, former chief executive and major shareholder of Adidas, was among 14 people who appeared in the criminal court of Marseille last week in a trial relating to suspected fraud in the accounts of Olympique de Marseille (OM), the French football club owned by Louis-Dreyfus. The investigating magistrate claimed the defendants had taken part in fraudulent payments worth about 30 million French francs, or about €1.5 million, surrounding 15 players’ transfers between 1997 and 1999. OM managers allegedly arranged for players to receive undercover payments from the club that they did not declare after their recruitment by OM.
Louis-Dreyfus admitted that the payments had been made but insisted that they were not illegal and merely meant to compensate the players for a reduction in their salaries. On the other hand, the investigating magistrate believed that OM aimed to reduce its social charges by turning part of the new players’ salaries into a transfer bonus. In some cases, the money allegedly went through obscure channels and landed in the pockets of agents and the OM trainer at the time, Rolland Courbis.
Other people indicted as part of the case include Yves Marchand, former general manager of Adidas France and OM, and current shareholder of Boards & More and Le Coq Sportif. Louis-Dreyfus has pumped an estimated €150 million into the OM club since he acquired it in 1996, but the club’s performance has been see-sawing. It has repeatedly suffered from management chaos, occasionally leading to fist fights and accusations of mafia connections. The verdict in the case is scheduled for March 31.
